Pen & Ink

In my former artist life, pencil was king.  Pen & ink drawings required bravery I lacked.  We used Rapidiograph pens for technical use in class.  I used them once to create a comical rendition of my hectic day and sent it to my parents.  Lack of use & inadequate cleaning killed all but one of that set.  Bummer.

Since discovering Pigma Micron pens, I've fallen a little bit in love with pen work.  It's a love/hate thing.  This sketch was done the day after a snowstorm.  I tromped around sketching in pencil first, then pulled out a pen & sat on the deck.  Moving the pen across the page and aiming for "clean" lines was making me edgy.  The trellis above kept dripping on the page, leaving wet spots & occasionally smearing the ink as I instinctively wiped them off.  Why am I doing this again?  Moving on to the fence and second shed, I reverted to sketchy lines and got into a rhythm.  That little bit of page was much more fun.  I'm not happy with this sketch, but here it is.  One more page in the sketchbook and a few more minutes of practice on the journey.

Ink textures in my little Moleskine.

I'm liking the little patches of crosshatch.  Note to self:  Sketch using just this texture.